Wicklow man accused of assaults with crowbar faces delays over mental health assessment
The Wicklow PeopleA man accused of attacking his parents and gardaí with a crowbar has had his case delayed due to difficulties obtaining a mental health assessment
Shane McCann (42), formerly of Wolfe Tone Square West, Bray, appeared at a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court.
Mr McCann is charged with two counts of assault causing harm and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.
He is accused of assaulting his mother, father and three gardaí with a crowbar.
It is further alleged that multiple animals were injured during the incident. The court heard in March 2025 that part of the alleged assault was captured on CCTV footage.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, James Kelly, previously described the matter as an “alleged serious and graphic” incident.
Senior counsel for the accused, Paul Murray, stated that his client has a history of mental health issues, which played a part in the alleged assault. Mr Murray noted that there are difficulties surrounding his fitness to plead and the possibility of raising an insanity defence.
A booklet of correspondence between the accused’s instructing solicitor and multiple psychiatrists was handed into court.
The court heard that Mr McCann has been in custody for a sustained period, but the matter cannot progress due to delays in obtaining a mental health assessment.
Mr Kelly added that it is unusual for him to align with defence submissions, but said the case had previously troubled Judge Patrick Quinn and pointed to a failure in the system to allow the case to “make some progress”.
Mr McCann addressed the court via video link, stating that he had never experienced mental health issues until he began taking medication prescribed by the HSE, which he claimed caused him to suffer from psychosis.
He added that prison doctors have told him “there is nothing wrong with him”, meaning they cannot officially treat him.
Judge Siobhán Ní Chúlacháin described the situation as a “catch-22”, before pointing out the relevance of the alleged psychosis to the offences.
She added that it is currently “impossible to get reports from doctors at the moment”.
Mr Murray requested that the matter be adjourned to April 30 to allow him to make further submissions to the instructing solicitor on how to proceed.
Judge Ní Chúlacháin adjourned the matter to April 30 to allow progress to be made. The defendant added that the “burden is on the State”.